Ceremony To Preserve Black Burial Ground

The Friends of Bethel Burial Ground Coalition is working to preserve the final resting place of 5,000 black Philadelphians who are interred in an historic burial ground under the Weccacoe Playground at 4th & Queen Streets, in the Southwark section of South Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia Dept. of Parks and Recreation is trying to renovate the playground with no regard for the graves of those buried there, a coalition of Black activists charges. These Black Philadelphians lived and died in Southwark during the 18th and 19th centuries. They are the founding members of the Black community in Philadelphia, ancestors in the African Diaspora.

The Friends of Bethel Burial Ground Coalition is made up of residents and taxpayers of Philadelphia County, who own this historic public site. They are working to stop any further desecration of the site by permanently protecting and preserving the graves of our ancestors as a local, state and national historic site.

They have already been successful in making the City of Philadelphia examine and correct the danger posed by an old and decaying six-inch water main that run alongside the Bethel Burial site.

The coalition is holding a public Libation Ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 18 at the burial site. Since the rediscovery of this historic site, there has been no public prayer offered for these ancestors at the place of their interment. The coalition asks that every person interested in honoring the African Ancestors buried at this historic site meet at 11 a.m., form the processional at 5th & Washington Avenue, where we will proceed to Bethel Burial Ground to offer prayers and celebrate their lives.

Bring your drums, bells, horns and all of your good will. Everyone of good will is invited to participate.